Enhancing public health workforce research through centers of excellence

There is currently a dearth of organized research efforts to support and initiate effective public health workforce policy. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded the first Center of Excellence in Public Health Workforce Research and Policy (COEWRP) at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health (UKCPH) in 2008. COEWRP's placement at UK was not accidental; it was a nod to the effectiveness of the Center for Public Health Systems and Services Research (CPHSSR) established in 2007 with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). COEWRP's focus is to catalog resources for workforce researchers and to facilitate sharing of information in the field. In 2009, CDC funded a second Center of Excellence for Public Health Workforce Studies (CEPHS) at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (UMSPH). CEPHS focuses on analysis of workforce data and development of capacity models, particularly for the epidemiology workforce. A national advisory committee of prominent public health leaders directs the efforts of the COEs and provides visioning for sustaining workforce research activities. This presentation will discuss the Centers' efforts of the past two years (October 2008 to November 2010), similarities and differences in missions and approaches, and work accomplished to date in providing data and technical assistance to workforce researchers and policymakers. In addition the presentation will cover the renewed interest in, and recently defined research themes for, PH workforce research as well as the COEs' intentional emphasis on collaborative partnerships among academia, federal agencies, and practice entities for leveraging positive outcomes.